IHBC NewsBlogs

The publisher Routledge is currently offering a free ebook on Urban Design (UD) Tools, and 20% off some bestselling backlist titles until the end of December, together with a collection of free to view textbooks covering issues on the built environment, real estate, construction, landscape architecture and contract law.

Enter discount code DC360 at the checkout on www.routledge.com for 20% off bestselling back catalogue titles by the end of December, and view free to view textbooks until 15 December.

Routledge writes:
Urban Design: Tools & Resources for the Planning Practitioner, is a FreeBook brought to you by Routledge and features hand-picked content from some of our leading titles.  The five chapters featured in this FreeBook share the goal of making urban areas functional, attractive, and sustainable. Our aim in selecting the excerpts included here was to highlight some of our newest practitioner-oriented titles, and illustrate the global scope of the work being done in this field. In reading through this FreeBook, you’ll find not only that the authors of these selections are based all over the world, but also that their approach to their work reflects a truly global outlook.

Download the FreeBook

Explore Routledge limited time edition free collections

Can you spare a few minutes to help shape the future of the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG)?

NHTG writes:
We would like to make sure that the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) is giving the best possible service to all our stakeholders. If you could answer the questions included in this link (please feel free to add any additional comments) this will make sure we are helping you as much as we can.

The questionnaire will only take a few minutes of your time but the results will shape the NHTG over the next few years. Please do not miss the opportunity to have your say.

The deadline for your response is 8th December.

Answer the survey

View more information on NHTG

Following the outcry spurred by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) report on a case at Northampton Borough Council, The Planning Portal writes that ‘Planners must ensure they refer to the correct legislation when considering applications affecting heritage sites, the Local Government Ombudsman has stressed.’ 

The Planning Portal writes:
The watchdog has highlighted this requirement following a complaint about Northampton Borough Council whose planning officers recommended councillors grant planning permission for a café extension in a conservation area, within a short distance of a Grade 1 listed building.

The planning officer involved in determining the application consulted with the council’s conservation officer, who said any works to the café would impact upon the setting of the listed building and upon the character and appearance of the conservation area.

But the planning officer omitted the conservation officer’s recommendation in his report to members and recommended approval of the application…

The council has accepted the watchdog’s report and apologised to the complainant. In a statement it said it had begun to implement the Ombudsman’s recommendations. ‘On this occasion the service we provide clearly fell short of what people have a right to expect and we apologise.’

Read more at The Planning Portal and see IHBC NewsBlogs

The Wave and Weeping Window sculptures – part of the iconic First World War ‘poppy’ sculpture – originally at the Tower of London as part of the Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) commissioned artwork to mark the centenary of the war are to be installed at Caernarfon Castle in 2016

Cadw writes:
The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates has welcomed the announcement that one of the iconic poppy sculptures will be coming to Wales, to be displayed at Caernarfon Castle next year.

The Weeping Window, part of the original Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, will open at Caernarfon Castle on 12th October 2016, and will be especially presented by 14-18 NOW to mark the centenary of the First World War.  It will remain at the castle until the 20th November 2016, meaning it will be in place for Remembrance Day and the centenary of the end of the Battle of the Somme.

Wave and Weeping Window are from the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, a display of 888,246 poppies; one to honour every death in the British and Colonial forces of the First World War which was installed at the Tower of London in 2014.

Weeping Window is the cascade of poppies that was seen pouring out of a high window down to the grassed moat below. Wave is a sweeping arch of bright red poppies suspended on towering stalks. The sculpture Wave and Weeping Window have been saved for the nation by the Backstage Trust and the Clore Duffield Foundation, and gifted to 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums.  As with all 14-18 NOW projects, the presentation of the sculptures to new audiences aims to prompt a new, nationwide dialogue around the legacy of the First World War.

The Deputy Minister said:  I am delighted that Caernarfon Castle has been chosen to host the poignant Weeping Window display over some key dates in 2016, including Remembrance Sunday. The original installation at the Tower of London attracted millions of international visitors and became an iconic image for the centenary commemorations for the First World War.  We have been proud to lead the nation’s commemorative programme, Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918, and having an opportunity to feature the poppies in Wales is a great addition to the many commemorative events planned already planned by organisations and individuals across Wales. Caernarfon Castle will provide an ideal backdrop to this stunning exhibition and I am confident residents and visitors will be delighted with this news.’

Locations across the UK were asked to bid to host the two sculptures and Caernarfon Castle was successful.

For the remainder of the 14-18 NOW programme, the Wave and Weeping Window will be on view at selected locations around the United Kingdom finishing at IWM North and IWM London in the autumn of 2018. The sculptures will then be gifted to Imperial War Museums.

Wave and Weeping Window are from the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red – poppies and original concept by artist Paul Cummins and installation designed by Tom Piper – by Paul Cummins Ceramics Limited in conjunction with Historic Royal Palaces.

View the press release

The Church of England (CofE) has been awarded a grant of £9,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to assist in the digitisation of records held in the Canon Clarke archive, covering 11,479 Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in England.

The CofE writes:
The Church of England’s church buildings form the nation’s largest ‘estate’ of built heritage. A village, town or city’s church is often its oldest building still in continual use, as well as its largest and most visited building. Churches are also often an area’s most architecturally complex and archaeologically sensitive buildings. In all cases, they were constructed for the glory of God, for worship and mission, and stand as repositories of our shared history.

ChurchCare – the Church of England’s national resource – began a strategic campaign to simplify the Faculty process in 2012. As part of this endeavour, and with the financial assistance of Historic England, ChurchCare developed the Church Heritage Record: a digital database of church buildings integrated with a Geographic Information System (GIS), which can be used for planning and development control, but also fulfills an educational and engagement role.

The Church Heritage Record contains over 16,000 entries on church buildings in England, covering a wide variety of topics from architectural history and archaeology, to worship and the surrounding natural environment. The information contained within has been developed and added to through desk-based research and fieldwork reports, as well as through local initiatives and thematic projects.

The Church Heritage Record project has been awarded a £9,900 Sharing Heritage grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to catalogue, digitise and promote the Canon Clarke archival collection, which contains information on 11,479 Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in England, located in the CCB’s library at Church House, Westminster. The project, to begin in April 2016, will recruit a total of 8 participants to digitise the archival collection, make content available on the CHR, develop guided tours, and host a learning event aimed at engaging the public with the collection and church buildings.

The Church Heritage Record also records information about the lives and memories of local people. Church buildings have been the site of some of the most important moments in some people’s lives: their births, marriages, and deaths. We want to invite the public to share their memories of their ancestors, using photographs and written stories, on the record’s Forum.

The Church Heritage Record is continuously updated and developed thanks to the dedication and hard work of local volunteers across England.  If you think you would like to help out, share your photographs, or you know of an interesting project happening in your area, contact Julie Patenaude at :Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, Church House, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3AZ or email: julie.patenaude@churchofengland.org

Search the church heritage records

View the press release

IHBC NewsBlogs on churches

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has begun consulting on a proposed new Part R of the Building Regulations which will ensure all new buildings and major renovations have the ducts and distribution channels to enable connection to super-fast broadband, with a closing date of 11 January 2016.

View more information

New funding has been announced by DCLG and Cabinet Office under the Community Organisers Mobilisation Fund which will help communities in England to take action under Localism initiatives.

The Cabinet Office writes:
The Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson MP, today announced the launch of a new £500,000 fund to support Community Organisers to mobilise residents to take action on the issues they care about.

Twenty seven community organisers across England will benefit from the Community Organisers Mobilisation Fund which is jointly backed by the Cabinet Office and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).  All of the communities benefiting from the Fund will be supported to use the powers available to them under the Localism Act 2011. Community Organisers will actively support these communities to make the most of community rights, neighbourhood planning and other neighbourhood approaches to create positive change in their local area. The fund will enable communities to shape the future of the places they live and work in – from using the Community Right to Build with residents of Heaton in Newcastle to setting up community owned pubs in Brighton.

Different types of communities from across the country will benefit, including:

• in Bognor Regis, Val Souchet will be supporting community groups to use the Community Right to Bid alongside other neighbourhood approaches to put the community at the heart of decision making. The focus will be on harnessing economic boosts like local tourism and development to benefit residents
• in rural Cornwall, Patrick Murphy aims to support residents to deliver community-led youth services and will look to transfer a Nancherrow Youth Centre in West Cornwall into community ownership
• in Birmingham, Kaneez Hasna will be working in the community of Bordesley Green. She will support the residents to understand how the Community Right to Challenge can help improve services and assets in their local area , including their local heritage park

Get involved in your community – for ideas, resources, case studies and tools see: My Community and link up with others taking action in their neighbourhood by joining the My Community Network.

Rob Wilson, Minister for Civil Society said:  I am delighted that residents across England will benefit from the support of a Community Organiser to help them shape their neighbourhoods. More resilient, capable communities are a cornerstone of my vision for a bigger and stronger society. I look forward to seeing positive changes in these communities.

Marcus Jones, Minister for Local Government said:  This is an exciting opportunity for residents to take greater control of their local assets and planning for the future. It supports our commitment to creating stronger and more resilient communities. It will encourage these neighbourhoods to consider how they can influence local decision making, improve local services and help them shape the place where they live. I look forward to hearing about the positive impact on local neighbourhoods as the projects progress.

The Company of Community Organisers Ltd is managing the initiative on behalf of the Cabinet Office and DCLG. 

View the press release

IHBC NewsBlogs on localism and funding

A QC is seeking to raise £20,000 through crowd funding to take a planning case through to the Court of Appeal.

Simon Kverndal QC is a maritime litigation and arbitration specialist at Quadrant Chambers who has lived in the Chiswick area with his family for 17 years.  He is seeking to challenge Hounslow Council’s decision to give Lend Lease permission to develop a residential complex of 13, 8, 7 and 6 storey buildings on Chiswick High Road overlooking Turnham Green.

A first round of crowdfunding raised £20,000 to bring a judicial review challenge in the High Court.

A full hearing took place on 29/30 September. Mr Justice Supperstone held that the five grounds of challenge were arguable but he dismissed all of them.

On the Crowd Justice site, Kverndal said the initial crowdfunding target had been hit but the stretch target of £20,000 was needed ‘to take us through the permission stage of the appeal process’.  He said he was bearing the risks of the litigation but was appealing to the community for help with some of the costs.

The sum raised would cover the fees of Richard Buxton Environmental & Public Law and barristers Dan Kolinsky QC and Luke Wilcox of Landmark Chambers.

Claiming that allowing the development to go ahead was ‘plainly inconsistent’ with the local plans and policies Hounslow Council had drawn up, he added: ‘We truly believe that if this development is allowed to go ahead, it will not just dramatically affect our skyline; it will irreversibly destroy the heritage, character and community of Chiswick for us and for future generations.’

On the High Court ruling, Kverndal said: ‘The judgment is extremely disappointing not just in the result but in failing to do justice to the very powerful arguments advanced on our behalf. We have at least a fighting chance on appeal but that fight will depend on whether we raise the funding which we need to pay the legal costs.’

If permission is given, a third round of crowdfunding will be necessary to cover the appeal itself, Kverndal said. 

Read more at LocalGovernmentLawyer

The hotel that inspired the cult TV series Fawlty Towers is to be knocked down and replaced with retirement flats. 

The BBC writes:
Churchill Retirement Living will convert the site after its plans were approved by Torbay Council.

Former owner Donald Sinclair unwittingly became the inspiration for Cleese’s character Basil Fawlty.

The 41-bedroom hotel ceased trading early this year and Churchill Retirement Living applied to use the site for 36 retirement apartments.

Fawlty Towers, voted number one in the British Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Television Programmes in 2000, ran for just 12 episodes.

Read more at BBC News

The Shortlist for the competition to select a design team for a project to extend Hallé St Peter’s in Ancoats (Manchester) on behalf of the Hallé Concerts Society, has been announced by the RIBA.

The RIBA writes:
This proposed new-build extension will form the second phase of the project to transform the Grade II listed former church building into rehearsal, performance, education and ancillary spaces for the Hallé Orchestra, Choir and other ensembles.

Forty-two Expressions of Interest were received from practices of varying size across the UK and Europe.  The Selection Panel consisted of the Hallé’s Chief Executive, members of its Board, together with Mike Oglesby CBE DL (Retired Chairman and CEO, Bruntwood) and Sir Jeremy Dixon (Dixon Jones) acting as the RIBA Architect Adviser.

The five short-listed teams (in alphabetical order of design firm lead) are as follows:

– Caruso St John Architects LLP
– Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
– Flanagan Lawrence
– Jamie Fobert Architects
– Stephenson Studio

In selecting the shortlist, the Panel reflected on the Hallé’s ambition for the new extension to provide a noteworthy addition to the architectural heritage of the former cotton mill area of the city; an appropriate adjunct to the existing building’s ecclesiastical architecture; help in consolidating the adjacent urban square and a refreshing rather than derivative approach to embody the ethos of the Hallé as an organisation.

On announcing the Shortlist, John Summers, Hallé Chief Executive, said: ‘We are delighted to have attracted such an outstanding shortlist of architects to work on this phase of the project and are very grateful to the Monument and Dunard Trusts for supporting the preparation work for the extension to St Peter’s, including this design competition’.

The five teams will be invited to present their design proposals to the Panel in early February 2016.

RIBA news article

A new fund of £600,000 has been announced to help local government deliver planning projects for England’s neighbourhood planning.

DCLG writes:
A challenge fund to enable local authorities to make changes to their planning service to help them deliver neighbourhood and local plans.

A pot of £600,000 resource grant funding is being made available in the 2015 to 2016 financial year to be awarded to a series of pilot authorities to help them:

• better support neighbourhood planning by piloting ways of making neighbourhood planning an integral part of their planning service, for example in relation to Local Plan-making, or
• to identify ways of involving or delegating planning decisions to neighbourhood planning groups, or
• to make changes to their service to ensure that they have an up-to-date Local Plan in place by 2017

The deadline for applications is 18 December 2015.

View the press release

Planning minister Brandon Lewis has written to English councils asking them to be flexible and pragmatic when asked by developers to renegotiate affordable housing delivery.

Planning Portal writes:
In the letter Lewis voiced concerns that, following a government announcement that social rents will be reduced from 2016-17, schemes for the development of housing association properties ‘are not being built out at the anticipated rate’.

The minister predicted developers would be approaching councils to renegotiate section 106 agreements to adjust the type of affordable housing provision.

He urged local authorities ‘to respond constructively, rapidly and positively to requests for such renegotiations and to take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to viability’.

Lewis said the ‘minimum amount of viability information necessary’ should be sought where developers proposed a reduction in affordable housing contributions. He said proposals to change the mix of tenures provided without reducing the overall affordable housing contribution were unlikely to warrant new viability assessments.

He also recommended that section 106 agreements should be drafted to allow for ‘the delivery of alternative forms of affordable housing if this becomes necessary’.

The minister said officials would be contacting councils to gauge the extent of renegotiations and what action was being taken.

See the letter

Read more on Planning Portal

A new legislative scheme has been launched in Wales which is designed to help support the responsible management of property, and allow local authorities to identify the property managers in their area. 

The Welsh Government writes:
The new registration and licensing scheme will prevent rogue landlords and agents from letting and managing properties in Wales. It will also raise awareness by landlords, agents and tenants of their respective rights and responsibilities.

From today:

• all private landlords will be required to register with Rent Smart Wales. They will also have to register their properties
• if a landlord wants to manage the property themselves, they must demonstrate they are ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence, and then undertake, and pass, approved training
• alternatively, they will be able to appoint a licensed agent to manage the property on their behalf.

Landlords and agents have one year to comply with their new legal obligations, without fear of legal action.

Minister with responsibility for housing, Lesley Griffiths, said: ‘With around one in seven homes in Wales now privately rented, a strong sector with good working practices is absolutely vital.  I am proud Wales is leading the way on improving professionalism across the private rented sector. Our new, landmark scheme will drive up standards by making Wales the first country in the UK where managing landlords and agents are required to undertake training to ensure they are clear on their responsibilities.  The changes will prevent rogue, and even criminal, landlords and agents from being involved in the management and letting of properties. This will help to protect tenants in the private rented sector – including students, lone parents and young families.  Rent Smart Wales will also support good landlords and agents by helping them keep abreast of their responsibilities and legal obligations, and raising the reputation of the sector as a whole.’

View the press release

A new research report has been released by Historic England (HE) which shows how archaeological practice has benefited from development over the last 25 years. 

Historic England (HE) writes:
Historic England (formerly English Heritage) has published a new report illustrating how development-led archaeological discoveries have shed new light on our ancient and recent past. We now know that ancient England was more heavily populated, better connected internationally and more sophisticated than was previously thought. The evidence for this has come as a direct result of archaeological investigations for new developments. The report celebrates 25 years since archaeology was made part of the system for granting planning permission.

This new policy marked a watershed in England’s archaeology, and prevented the loss of the sort of archaeological remains that happened before its implementation.

In 1954 work on a new office block in the City of London unearthed the foundations of a Roman temple of the god Mithras which were then dismantled. Post-war renewal in the 1950s and 60s saw similar losses. In places such as Chester, York and Winchester, many precious archaeological remains were lost without being recorded.

There was increasing concern about the losses until the foundations of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre were discovered in 1989 during the construction of a new office block in London’s Bankside. Following public outcry, the building was redesigned to allow the Rose’s remains to stay intact.

In November 1990, the Government issued a new policy on archaeology and planning. This allowed for archaeological surveys to be carried out before planning permission is granted.

The policy, now built into the National Planning Policy Framework has been a great success.

View the press release

Download the report

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is seeking views on the proposals from the Scottish Government affecting procurement regulations 

The Construction Industry Council writes:
As part of the Scottish Government’s ’Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction’ recommendations implementation, Construction Scotland would like your views to help shape the future direction of the Scottish Construction Industry.

The recommendations of the review report cover a wide range of issues and Construction Scotland will consider these under the key themes of:

• Contracts & Risk
• Payment Process
• Tender Process
• Sustainability

These themes include 38 of the 66 recommendations from the construction procurement review that are being taken forward for implementation which are summarised here

There is also the opportunity to be involved with construction industry feedback on the implementation of BIM, modern methods of construction and new and emerging technologies as part of the implementation of recommendations from the ‘Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction’.

If you want to get involved then register your interest before 11 December 2015

You will then be contacted to participate in this vitally important debate regarding the future of the Scottish Construction Industry.

View the CIC news release

Further information

View more information about the Scottish Government review

A new study has been released by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) that looks at lessons from Europe on how to promote positive developments to assist in addressing housing needs, focussing on addressing ‘Nimby’-ism through up-front investment, and shows how ‘markets for land and property, when left to operate without intervention, are inherently incapable of delivering either the quantity or quality of places needed in the UK’. 

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) writes:
New studies from Europe show how France, Germany and the Netherlands have successfully tackled housing and regeneration by using planning skills and tools to stimulate not just regulate development in a way that is markedly different from the UK, says the RTPI.

In a new study, researchers from the University of Liverpool have identified five specific tactics – seldom used in the UK – that have led to faster and better development, especially housing development, in Western Europe:

• upfront infrastructure investment to shape future development;
• this investment builds support for urban extensions, so tackling ‘NIMBYism’;
• land assembly and readjustment whereby an overarching body actively seeks out and temporarily pools together private development rights
• strong planning institutions to coordinate this development;
• regional coalition-building and strategic planning across administrative boundaries to reflect functional economic areas.

Michael Harris, Head of Research at the RTPI, said: ‘The experience in Europe shows that planning tools such as upfront infrastructure provision and land readjustment are essential to building the kind of places with access to jobs, good infrastructure and green spaces, at the kind of scale and density required to tackle the UK’s pressing housing crisis. We aren’t making enough use of them in the UK.  Planning is so much more than just about regulating the use of land, but somehow this has become the dominant thinking here and has led to the perception that planning is anti-growth, cumbersome and bureaucratic. This paper offers timely and powerful evidence that when used in a more proactive and positive way, planning can shape better development and is one of the most powerful unused weapons we have to support the UK economy and improve quality of life.’

The study explains how the markets for land and property, when left to operate without intervention, are inherently incapable of delivering either the quantity or quality of places needed in the UK for sustainable economic growth.  In-depth case studies from Hamburg, Lille and Nijmegen illustrate how planning can overcome market failure and deliver beneficial economic outcomes for people and places. In all three cases, the planning system plays an enterprising role in negotiating with, shaping, and stimulating the market. In particular, its intervention as a ‘first mover’ to animate the development process in large, cross-boundary or problematic projects through the use of the above mentioned tactics has enhanced the certainty and preconditions for private investment.

The RTPI-commissioned study ‘Planning as ‘market maker’: How planning is used to stimulate development in Germany, France and the Netherlands’ has been undertaken by Dr Alex Lord and Dr Phil O’Brien at University of Liverpool. It is funded through the RTPI’s Small Projects Impact Research (SPIRe) scheme.

Read the full report

View the press release

The Welsh Government’s Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee met on 26 November to consider and vote on the proposed Stage 2 amendments to the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill.

The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates AM, appeared before the committee to set out the Welsh Government’s position on the proposed amendments, while those considered by the Committee but not supported by the Minister were dismissed.

On the background, the Welsh Government’s ‘Historic Environment Bill E-bulletin’ wrote in advanced of the meeting:
The Welsh Government has tabled 39 amendments to the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill.

Many of the amendments respond to recommendations made in the reports of the Communities, Equality and Local Government and the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committees.

A change to the Bill may require several individual amendments to ensure that it is reflected throughout the legislation.

If passed, the proposed government amendments will make a number of changes to the Bill:

• The Welsh Ministers will be required to compile a list of historic Welsh place names. Historic environment records will be required to provide access to the list.
  • These important additions to the Bill will raise awareness of the value and importance of place names by providing better public access to information about them.
  • They will also give local authorities a way to get information on historic place names when considering development applications and requests for changes to property names.
• Improvements will be made to how temporary stop notices work.
• The Welsh Ministers will be able to choose the most appropriate way to receive representations on scheduled monument consent applications. This will include appointing a person to receive written representations.
• The Advisory Panel on the Welsh Historic Environment will be required to publish a report on its activities every three years.
• The Welsh Ministers will have to make regulations needed for certain provisions in the Bill to work effectively. 

See the source documents

See the ‘marshalled list’ of amendments for 26 November 

Access the E-bulletins in English

Northampton Borough Council has been the subject of a Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) case relating to how historic buildings are considered in planning decisions after a planning officer omitted the conservation officer’s recommendation in his report to members, saying that ‘Planners must ensure they refer to the correct legislation when considering applications affecting heritage sites’.

The LGO writes:
Planners must ensure they refer to the correct legislation when considering applications affecting heritage sites, the Local Government Ombudsman has said. 

The LGO is highlighting the situation following a complaint about Northampton Borough Council, in which planning officers recommended councillors grant planning permission for a café extension in a conservation area, within a short distance of a Grade 1 listed building.

Grade 1 listings are rare and represent buildings or monuments of ‘exceptional importance’ and so planning law affords them special protection.  However, in this case the council did not identify the correct legislation when deciding the planning application.

The popular café, which sits in a park in the town, is owned by a local elected councillor. The café is some 60 metres from the listed building and lies within a conservation area.

A planning officer involved in determining the application consulted with the council’s conservation officer, who said any works to the café would impact upon the setting of the listed building and upon the character and appearance of the conservation area.

The conservation officer recommended amendments be made to the design to improve its appearance and reduce the impact upon the listed building and conservation area.

Despite this concern, the planning officer omitted the conservation officer’s recommendation in his report to members and recommended approval of the application.

The officer referred to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, where he should have based his recommendation on the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.  This Act imposes a duty to pay special attention on both preserving the building or its setting, and also preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of a conservation area.

A regular park user complained to the LGO about the council’s decision.  During the LGO investigation, it became apparent the council had not consulted with Historic England (then English Heritage).  The LGO contacted Historic England, and a representative from that organisation said it was ‘clear’ that the café extension would affect the setting of the listed building and the council should therefore have consulted them about the proposals.

The LGO also uncovered correspondence from Historic England which shows this was not the first occasion the council had not consulted properly with them on planning applications affecting historic assets.

The LGO investigation found the council’s failure to have regard to a material planning consideration – that of the setting of the listed building and conservation area – was fault.  It also found the council’s failure to consult with Historic England was fault, and there was fault in the way the council validated the application contrary to its own planning policy.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman said: ‘Local people will only have faith in the planning process if applications are considered against the right local and national frameworks. This case highlights how this trust can be lost when buildings of exceptional importance are not properly protected.  I would now urge Northampton Borough Council to consider my report and accept my recommendations to help preserve the area’s assets for future generations.  I would also encourage other local authorities to check their own planning procedures to make sure their historic buildings are given the proper protection afforded to them in law.’

To remedy the complaint, the LGO has recommended that the council introduce conservation training for all its planning officers and undertake an immediate review of its procedures for dealing with planning applications which affect heritage assets. It should put measures in place to ensure and monitor that all applications affecting heritage assets are referred to its conservation officer and on their advice, Historic England.

The council should also maintain a record of all pre-planning advice which should be made available to the public when any subsequent planning application is validated.

The council has also been asked to apologise to the man who raised the complaint.

View the report and press release

The heritage and built environment position within the government’s recent ‘Spending Review’ has been under consideration, and in this NewsBlog we present a summary selection of reactions:

The Heritage Alliance writes:
The Treasury’s acknowledgement that the UK is ‘brilliant at culture’ is very welcome together with the Chancellor’s illustration of the power of grants to lever in investment. This supports his previous sentence that a cut in the budget of such a small Department like DCMS is a false economy.  DCMS points out that the cut of 20% is in the administration budget while the overall cut to the DCMS resource budget is 5%, a good result in the context of the Spending Review.

Although arts, museums and sport are singled out for additional support, there was, however, little mention of heritage although the new £40 million Discover England Fund to boost tourism across England is a very positive investment together with the £1m for Hull’s UK City of Culture 2017 and to prepare for the next UK City of Culture.  Other welcome points were that Historic England and the Churches Conservation Trust will be given the same operational and financial freedoms as national museums to help these bodies to move towards greater financial self reliance and sustainability. The Government confirms its support to the new English Heritage charity. In DEFRA’s budget, the protection of funding for Areas of Outstanding National Beauty and National Parks is also good news.

Other measures in the Spending Review impinge on the condition of our heritage assets, notably the pressure on Local Authorities to reduce their property portfolios. The Spending Review will allow Local Authorities to retain 100% of receipts from sales to be used for improving local services. If this results in the rapid sale of town halls, libraries and other civic buildings, the Heritage Alliance will be working to ensure that disposal policies take account of the community value of these assets to avoid these buildings, many of them historic landmark buildings on the high street, being simply sold to the highest bidder and ending up empty or on the Heritage at Risk register. If the receipts were ploughed back into under-resourced historic environment services the overall principle would be more acceptable. Similar conditions should apply when central government departments release £4.5 billion worth of surplus land and property assets.

We were surprised that no further measures were made to boost philanthropic giving heritage but further information may lie in the promise of ‘tax reliefs for museums’.

Historic England writes:
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has today confirmed it will receive a 5% real terms cut to its funding. The Secretary of State has said this is an excellent settlement in the context of the Spending Review.  Historic England, an Arm’s Length Body of DCMS, will receive a cut of approximately £2.2m to its baseline by 2020, representing approximately 10% in real terms over the four financial years from 2016/17.

Responding to this news, Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: The government has recognised the significance of Historic England’s role in caring for our spectacular historic environment, and we are grateful for this.  We fully appreciate that we have been given some protection in comparison to many other public sector bodies.  We can’t afford to lose the momentum that the launch of Historic England has created. A 10% cut is not an insignificant challenge, and other aspects of today’s news will create further challenges for us as we care for the historic environment during a time of change. But public recognition and support for our mission is high, and we intend to press on with vital initiatives to increase our impact.

This settlement will enable us to support the English Heritage Trust during its first years of operation, while it becomes financially self-sufficient. This is very welcome news.  We will also ensure, for the future, that the immense value of heritage is fully recognised in the national growth and renewal agenda. With our many partners and supporters, we will ensure that the buildings and places we all care about play their part in England’s future.’

Planning Portal writes:
Planning policy will also be amended to support small sites.  Small and medium-sized builder activity will be helped by the extension of the £1bn Builders’ Finance Fund to 2020-21, and by the halving of the length of the planning guarantee for minor developments.

A sum of £2.3bn is being made available in loans to help regenerate large council estates and invest in infrastructure needed for major housing developments. The Government has committed to £310m to deliver the first new garden city in nearly 100 years, at Ebbsfleet in Kent.

Read more from the Heritage Alliance, Historic England and Planning Portal

Additional summaries are provided as follows:

• Designing Buildings Wiki on the proposed apprenticeship levy
• DCMS settlement at the Spending Review 2015